Rain

 We’ve had several days of rain, which we needed for our dry land. I also like having a rainy, cool spring because it’s a nice transition from the cold of winter to the heat of summer. Some years it seems as if we go from winter to summer without a real spring. My plants are doing well, though I lost one cucumber plant even though I covered it on the coldest night.

Rain renews and nurtures the soil and all things that grow in it. It may symbolize spiritual cleansing, rebirth, and new beginnings. Many cultures have worshiped deities of rain or water, sometimes associated with a particular river or lake. We all need water to live so this type of symbolism isn’t surprising.

Walking in rain can be wonderful, carrying an umbrella, perhaps of bright colours or wearing bright raingear.

Of course, grey clouds and rain, especially if they last several days may cause melancholy and gloomy feelings, even depression.

Along with rain we often get rainbows, which have their own symbolism. The rainbow bridge was considered by some a way to transfer from earth to the realms of deities. The seven colours of the rainbow may connect with the veils of goddesses, or the rainbow may have represented a goddess’s necklace. In the Christian Bible, the rainbow that Noah sees when the flood is over represents God’s promise that he won’t destroy the earth in a flood again.

Scientifically, rainbows appear when sunlight passes through raindrops, as prisms split white light into its component colours, from longest (at the top) to shortest wave lengths (at the bottom). Double rainbows occur when light is reflected twice within raindrops.

I have memories of walking in rain as a child in Germany. On one memorable day there was a strong wind along with the rain and my small umbrella turned inside out. Luckily, when I turned the other direction my umbrella turned back.

I still have a few German children’s books and one has a short poem called Die Geschichte vom fliegenden Robert – The Story of Flying Robert. It tells of a boy who decides that it will be wonderful to walk in a windy rainstorm, unlike other boys and girls who are staying home. Robert’s umbrella is caught by the wind and he goes flying off, no one knows where. It’s supposed to be a cautionary tale as are others in the book, but what if Robert had a wonderful adventure?